“BEHOLD YOUR MOTHER”

 Meditation for Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows
(Jn 19:25-27)

“Standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and his mother’s sister…” Today we honor the mother of Jesus as ‘Mater Dolorosa’ (Mother of Sorrows). Mary leads us on the path of those saved by the Cross, for from the first moment of her existence, she was saved from every stain of original sin on account of her role as Mother of Jesus and in view of the redemption in Jesus Christ through the Cross. So, we meditate on Mary’s silent position at the foot of the Cross, which is the highest point of Mary’s sorrows.

As the ‘cross’ of Jesus gradually unfolded throughout His life, so Mary was always standing at the ‘foot’ at each moment; she actively participated and journeyed along with her Son. Catholic Tradition summed Mary’s sorrowful journey into seven:

      The Prophecy of Simeon
The Flight to Egypt
The loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple
Mary’s meeting Jesus on the fourth station of the Cross
The crucifixion of Jesus
Jesus is taken down from the cross
The Burial of Jesus

Mary bore her sorrows with love and in fulfillment of her vocation. Having surrendered herself to the will of God, she silently followed as God’s will unfolded in her life, even when it was humanly painful. In this way, she shared in her son’s suffering and for His sake. She was mystically wounded in heart as she silently clung to the foot of the cross. Jesus recognized her maternal position at His moment of cross and said to her, “Woman, behold your son!” Thus, her gaze is redirected to us her children in faith.

Mater Dolorosa warms our hearts. Our sins bring suffering to the Body of Christ. And as Jesus steps in to heal us and save us, Mary’s maternal presence silently urges us on that we might come to Jesus and be healed. Therefore, loaded with our burdens of sufferings, we stand with Mary at foot of the Cross, that Jesus may look down and behold us under her maternal mantle. For to us He says, “Behold your mother!”

Our Lady of Sorrows, Pray for us. Amen.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.
Wednesday September 15th, 2021.
www.soundofsilence.ng
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

THE CROSS, OUR ULTIMATE SIGN OF VICTORY

 Meditation for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross
(Num 21:4-9; Phil 2:6-11; Jn 3:13-17)

The Israelites became impatient and spoke against Moses and God. For this, the Lord send fiery serpents among them. Then, the people came to Moses to acknowledge their sins, saying, “We have sinned…pray to the Lord, that He take away the serpents from us.” In answer to Moses’ mediation, God asked him to make a bronze serpent and set it up as a sign; “And if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.” So, the sign that saved them took the semblance of the punishment for their sin!

This ancient sign of the bronze serpent prefigured the sign of the Cross. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may be have eternal life.” The Cross of Christ became the fulfillment. On the Cross, Jesus bore the burden of our sins, and died for us (Is 53:4). “By His wounds we are healed” (Is 53:5).

So Jesus Christ on the Cross was lifted up as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent; lifted up with the burden of our sins above our fallenness, towering over us with the healing of our wounds by His own wounds. ‘Lifted up’ He became an offering for our sins to the Father. “Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name…” That means our eyes must be fixed on him to be healed of the wages of our sins and be reconciled with God; and it is with the eyes of faith that we behold Him. Thus, those who believe in Jesus look upon Him to receive forgiveness of their sins. And the life He gives in return is eternal life. Those who saw the bronze serpent of old later died, but those who behold Jesus crucified will have eternal life!

That is why we exalt the Cross of Jesus; “Behold the wood of the Cross, on which hung the savior of the world…” The Cross that has become our crossover from death to life.
 The Cross that crushed the head of the ancient serpent with all his plans to lead the children of God astray.
The Cross that carries us through the crossroads of life.
The Cross, in which we are lifted up and above every fear, pain and sorrow.
The Cross, our ultimate sign of victory.
And through the Cross, we confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.
Tuesday September 14th, 2021.
www.soundofsilence.ng
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

PRAYER OF FAITH

Meditation for Monday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time

(1 Tim 2:1-8; Lk 7:1-10)

How often do we pray for people in authority? St Paul highlights the importance of praying for people in authority, and he urged Timothy to organize supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving especially for kings and all who are in high positions, “That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way.” It is the will of God that all men should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, including people in authority. Jesus the one mediator between God and men can save our leaders so that they can promote peaceful co-existence among the people. This will create room for all men to come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved. Hence, St Paul tells Timothy, “I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or quarrelling.”

As we are urged to bring our leaders to Jesus through prayer, a man of authority in the gospel of today approached Jesus to request for healing for her slave. Being a Roman centurion, he sent the Jewish elders to plead on his behalf to Jesus. They INTERCEDED for him, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation…” While Jesus was on his way, the man sent message to him saying, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed.” From his little authority as a centurion, the man recognized the greater authority of Jesus as omnipresent, traversing time and space. The man’s faith went beyond his desire to receive the healing he prayed for, to extoling the authority of Jesus, and most importantly, he surrendered both his desire and authority to Jesus, and waited patiently for His will be done.

Jesus marveled at such great faith, and said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” This is the kind of faith that conquers and heals; the faith than can heal our land and bring all people to experience the saving power of Jesus, especially our leaders.

St John Chrysostom, Pray for us. Amen.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.
Monday September 13th, 2021.
www.soundofsilence.ng
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

THE TRUE GUIDE

 Meditation for Friday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time
(1 Tim 1:1-2, 12-14; Lk 6:39-42)

It is a beautiful day as we begin another journey with Paul’s first letter to Timothy. This letter is among the PASTORAL EPISTLES addressed to a pastor of souls, providing guidelines for the life of the Christian community. “To Timothy, my true child in the faith”, whom St Paul converted on his mission to Lystra. His mother, Eunice (2 Tim 1:5), was a Jew but his father was a Greek (Acts 16:1-3). He became a close companion to St Paul. It appears Timothy was placed in charge of the Church in Ephesus (1 Tim 1:3). As we scroll down these pages, we shall see the uniqueness of the letters as St Paul instructs ‘his son’ on his role as pastor of souls.

St Paul began humbly by acknowledging his unworthiness, but exalting the mercy of God that brought him from blasphemy to faith; from persecuting the Church to a preacher of the gospel. “I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”

Ignorant of Christ is blindness; Jesus opened the eyes of St Paul and led him to the light of life through the gospel. Having seen the light, he is now leading Timothy along the way. In the gospel of today, Jesus asks, “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” This is hypocrisy! And there are a lot of hypocritical leaders who are always in a hurry to criticize and correct without love, who want people to FOLLOW them without knowing where thy themselves are going! “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”

Therefore, we join our voices with St Paul to exalt the grace and mercy of God that shine its light upon our blindness, removing our ignorance and filling us with divine wisdom. In the light of Christ, our inner vision is lifted above wordily pleasures and pursuit, to perceive heavenly treasures. Then, we see clearly the true value of things and use them well, and worship God freely. That is why Jesus is our true guide; He alone has seen the heavenly treasures and has come to show us the way. He holds us by the hand as the Good Shepherd and leads us to greener pastures and to safety. Any other guide is to help us trace our steps to Jesus, who opens our eyes and shows us the way. Amen.

St Nicholas of Tolentino, Pray for us. Amen.

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.
Thursday September 9th, 2021.
www.soundofsilence.ng
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

“LET THE WORD OF CHRIST DWELL IN YOU RICHLY”

Meditation for Thursday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time

(Col 3:12-17; Lk 6:27-38)

“Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and…forgive each other.” St Paul exhorts the Colossians on the life-style expected of them as Christ’s faithful. Such behavior will give way for the manifestation among them of the heavenly inheritance they have in Jesus Christ. How can these virtues be sustained? St Paul says, “And over all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body.” A heart that is inclined to this holy life will always be thankful, rejoicing and meditating on the word of Christ. Finally, St Paul exhorts them to anchor their lives on Jesus Christ, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

To anchor one’s life on Jesus Christ, it is necessary to soak one’s heart in meditation on the words and actions of Jesus. Then the heart and mind will begin to personalize and appropriate such divine moments as captured through the gospel passage. At a time when the riches of the word of God has become the energy of the heart and the principle of action, it becomes very possible to fulfil the words of Jesus in the gospel of today: “I say to you that hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” It is from this indwelling of the word of Jesus in our heart that we can practice charity without segregating, show mercy to all, avoid judging and condemning others, and look forward to heaven for our reward and justification.

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as you teach and admonish one another in all wisdom”, says St Paul. This indwelling of the word of Christ trains the heart to a righteous life-style, which bring to us and to others, the riches of the saints in light. Amen.

St Peter Claver, Pray for us. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.
Thursday September 9th, 2021.
www.soundofsilence.ng
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com

SILENCE AND INNER BALANCE

Meditation for Monday of the 18^th Week in Ordinary Time, Year B

(Num 11:4-15; Mt 14:13-21)

The value of silence cannot be over emphasized. It is doubtful if one can ever climb the heights of spirituality without nurturing silence as a habit. Silence is formative; it trains us to self-mastery, maturity and to discern properly. Entry into the ‘silent place’ is not to run away from our responsibilities, but to re-energize so as to carry out our tasks effectively and with joy. Jesus withdrew from the people and went to a lonely place. This was necessary to avoid exhaustion. However, it has a deeper spiritual connotation.

But the crowds with their needs anrts6s6w demands did not allow him to even settle down in the place of silence. He quickly stepped forward to attend to them, healing the sick and feeding the multitude with five loaves and two fish. It is usually the experience that whenever we want to observe the silence that uplifts the souls, crowds of thoughts, distractions and other interferences would not allow us to settle down in the place of silence. Nevertheless, no matter how little we had a taste of it, silence gives us vision and strength to achieve more.

Seeing how difficult it can be to recollect and settle down in the silence that our hearts yearn for, we look up to Jesus through the words of the Gospel that He may flood our soul with serenity. Such a touch of ‘divine stillness’ through the word of God can occur even in the noise around and as we run around our daily responsibilities. Like the boat that took Jesus to the silent place, the word of God draws on to that inner place of serenity and peace. It is within this ‘breath of silence’ that we can achieve inner balance, and remain focused and firm despite temptations and life challenges.

Think about the desire for variety of food and the imbalance that made the people of Israel to complain against Moses. Their nagging threw Moses off balance and he got frustrated and asked God to take his life! And imagine the numerous things today that throw us off balance and we act strangely. Therefore, let us enter the ‘boat of the word of God’ that it may carry us to behold Jesus Christ, in whom we have inner serenity and silence, which energizes us to achieve greatness. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.
Monday August 2^nd, 2021.
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com
www.soundofsilence.ng

SHE THAT COME FORTH AS THE MORNING RISING

Meditation for the Feast of the Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today, we recall and celebrate with joy the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She was timely positioned for our salvation. From the very dawn of God’s plan for human redemption, Mary’s role was clearly defined (Gen 3:15). Her birth, like her maternal presence, announces that the fulfillment of God’s promise of salvation is near. “Blessed are you who believed that the Lord’s word would come true!” (Lk 1:45). Mary’s birth was part of the fulfilment of what the Lord had promised, in order to bring about the greater fulfilment of our salvation in Jesus Christ. 

Therefore, the celebration of the birthday of Mary becomes for us the celebration of God’s faithfulness to His promises. And Mary grew up, living out to full maturity what her birth stood for.  In view of our salvation in Christ, Mary’s birth breaks forth like the Morning Sun. It keeps our hope high like the Tower of David; enriches our faith like the House of Gold. The tenderness of her birth lingered on throughout her life in her humility and silence.

Mary, the Highest Honor of our race, was full of grace as she entered the world. And she was set to unlock blessings as all generations will call her blessed. “But when the fullness of time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, and subject of the law” (Gal 4:4). As we honor her today, may she unlock divine favor for us, and bring us closer to our salvation. Amen.

 

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.
Wednesday September 8th, 2021.
www.soundofsilence.ng
www.nwachinwe.blogspot.com